Banana Pancakes
by Definitely-yesterday
Summary: One-shot inspired by two prompts: 1) Imagine Person A almost walks out into the street in front of a car and Person B quickly grabs and pulls back P-A before they get hit. P-B worriedly holds P-A close to them as the car passes while P-A is still in shock that they almost got hit. 2) P- B, "What do you want for breakfast?" P- A,"Is it pancake Sunday?"


Author's note: Not beta read. Any grammatical or spelling errors are mine alone. Can be considered post-"I saw Your Face in A Crowded Place"

* * *

It had been a several months since Arthur had found Merlin during his morning commute. Despite the centuries that had passed, they seemed to immediately fall into a comfortable routine of sorts. Over the past few months, Arthur had learned of Merlin's time while he was "away." He was happy to hear that the young (or was he considered ancient now?) wizard had completely adapted to the present time as he watched civilization evolve. When the former king stated as much, Merlin had laughed and shook his head, "There are still many times where I get absorbed into…our time and come out of a daze, shocked to see metal machinery zooming by with people inside."

Arthur had woken up but left his head buried under a pillow on his full-sized mattress that rested on the dingy carpet of his studio apartment. After a few moments, he'd pulled his head from under the pillow to orient himself. He lifted his head and squinted at the sunlight filtering in through the thin curtains on his left. He groaned and dropped his head onto the pillow again. After some grumbling into the pillow, Arthur rubbed his eyes then glanced to his right and saw Merlin still sleeping. The dark-haired man was face down in his pillow with his hair sticking out at all angles. Arthur smiled at the prone figure beside him then glanced at the clock on the night table beside Merlin. It was 9 in the morning. Arthur glanced back at Merlin then slid out of bed. This was one of the few days that they both had off work so Arthur decided he'd give Merlin special treatment today.

* * *

Arthur had gotten the necessary ingredients mixed and had put batter in the hot skillet when he heard Merlin's sleepy voice say, "Is it pancake Sunday?"

Arthur turned away from the stove and frowned at the warlock, "Pancake Sunday?"

Merlin leaned his shoulder and head against the nearby wall facing the kitchenette, "Yes, 'Pancake Sunday.' "

"The Sunday where we have off together and you make pancakes."

Arthur glanced back at the pancakes cooking on the stove. His frown deepened and he said, "I don't make pancakes every time we have the same day off."

Merlin shook his head and said, "We usually only have Sundays off at the same time and you make pancakes. Every time. So I've been dubbed it 'Pancake Sunday'."

Arthur eyed the warlock then sat the spatula he had in his hand down and walked over to Merlin, "And what would you rather I feed you for breakfast?"

He saw Merlin's eyes widen slightly and his lips parted at one of the rare innuendos Arthur had made. The once king smirked, stepped closer to the dark-haired man, and kissed him. He pressed the former servant to the wall and deepened the kiss. After what seemed like mere moments, Merlin pulled away from Arthur and murmured against his lips, "Is that smoke?"

Almost as if on cue, the single smoke detector in the apartment began going off. Arthur sighed and leaned his forehead against Merlin's. Merlin laughed as the blonde man pushed away from him. Arthur gestured towards the shrieking alarm as he strode quickly to the small stove and said, "Do you mind?"

Still chuckling, Merlin waved his hand and cleared the room of smoke. Arthur dumped the contents of the skillet into the nearby trash can. As Arthur placed the pan into the kitchen sink and ran water into it, he felt arms wrap around him and a chin rest on his shoulder.

"I know your specialty is pancakes, "Merlin said, "But how about we go out for breakfast?"

Arthur tensed and opened his mouth to protest when Merlin continued speaking. "I've managed to get some overtime, so no worries. I can pay."

"I wanted to treat you to a special morning though," Arthur said deflating.

"But you are treating me," Merlin said.

Arthur turned in the dark-haired man's arms to look at him. He rested his hands on the ledge of the counter behind him and tilted his head, "How is that?"

Merlin smiled, "By going out to breakfast with me, you're treating me to a whole day…"

"… free of food poisoning."

Arthur made a sour face at the warlock.

Merlin smirked at him and asked, "How about a shower then we head to the Waffle Shop?"

Arthur grumbled under his breath and interlaced his fingers with Merlin's before pulling him towards his tiny bathroom.

* * *

After a prolonged but satisfying shower, both men were now walking towards the restaurant. Merlin had been walking a little ahead of Arthur when the once king asked jokingly, "Do you know of any other colors than red and blue?"

He continued, "I mean, it's been centuries and yet the red scarf and-"

Merlin had turned to face Arthur while walking backwards and retorted, "Are you judging me on clothing?"

"You? Truly, Arthur?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows.

The warlock laughed, "The man who refuses to wear anything other than-"

Arthur watched Merlin stumble backwards off the curb behind him. He lunged forward, grabbing the dark-haired man by the front of his t-shirt and pulled him roughly into his arms just as a car sped by.

"Seriously, Merlin," he exclaimed.

After a few moments of clutching the warlock to him, Arthur loosened his hold to look at him. Merlin looked dazed.

"Come on," Arthur said taking hold of Merlin's hand, "We're almost to the Waffle Shop."

* * *

They had been silent the rest of the walk to the restaurant. Once they were situated in a booth by a window and had ordered their food, Arthur decided to break the silence only for Merlin to speak first.

"I told you," Merlin said frowning out the adjacent window.

"Told me what?" Arthur asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

"I get pulled into the past and I forget about the novelties and dangers of the present," Merlin replied.

Arthur took another sip of coffee and waited for further explanation.

Merlin gave a humorless chuckle then looked down into his cup of coffee and said, "It had been like old times. Us trading verbal jabs. I lost…touch."

He frowned into the mug.

Arthur leaned forward and placed his hands around Merlin's, "Well, you must stop going off like that."

Merlin looked up into Arthur's eyes.

"The past was nice," Arthur continued speaking, "It was good."

"But we're here now. In this time. Together once again. Let's enjoy this and try not to dwell on the past. Shall we?"

Merlin gave a small smile and nodded, "You're right."

Arthur smiled in return and pulled his hands back to lift his mug to his lips.

"Why focus on the past?" Merlin said flexing his fingers.

He wrapped them around his mug and continued, "When we can make so many new memories?"

Arthur nodded as he sipped his coffee. He then sat his mug down as he said, "Exactly, there's no reas-"

When he was unable to let go of the mug, he frowned.

"What-" Arthur began in confusion.

He then narrowed his eyes at the warlock, "What is this, Merlin?"

Merlin beamed and said, "The start of our future."


End file.
